A Vacation to Remember
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Naruto was supposed to be on vacation. He was supposed to kick back. Relax. Live a little after the war. Instead he finds himself coupled with a firey mermaid who needs his help. YES! A mermaid! Can this vacation get any worse? It can! NarutoxAquarius!


**A/N: Jeez! Three stories in a day! At this rate I'll kill myself! I've already done Aries as I said I would and, now tis the turn of the lovely Aquarius! I know that she is traditionally paired up with Scorpio, HOWEVER when I said all the females in Fairy Tail, I. Meant. All! Well, except for our dea, dear Asuka-chan. She is very much off limits! Now, sit back, relax, and most of all, enjoy!**

_Look, I like you...got a problem with that?_

_~Aquarius._

**Aquarius**

Was it really going to end like this?

His joints creaked, his muscles ached, and it felt as if a giant had just clapped its hands over his ears. And yet he felt nothing. That was not to say that he was not frightened. He was simply incapable of moving at the moment. Rather, he _could_ move, but his body refused to respond. It felt like he'd just been decked by his Tsunade Obaa-chanand yet, try as he might, he couldn't discern the cause of it. Maybe it was all that ramen he'd eatern before swiming. Still...

How was that possible?

The water was thunderously deep, but _he,_ had fifteen years of swimming experience from when he was a babe. And yet here he was. Drowning in some god forsaken ocean in the middle of kami-knows-where. Was it really going to end like this? Was he really going to die out here at years of age? Alone? Just like that? It wasn't fair! IT WASN'T FAIR!

_'I can't move!'_

He swam everyday. Hell, he'd learned to swim before he could walk! Surely his swimming skills hadn't dulled. Or had they? Only yesterday he'd snuck out of the village so he could continue his daily morning swim. The next thing he knew, someone struck him across the back of the head and knocked him out. Now, as he peered down into the dark depths, as he saw the ancho fastened to his heel, he resisted the urge to weep.

Today just wasn't his day!

He was supposed to be on vacation! Vacation, for crying out loud! Not only did he get attacked the second he set foot out of the village, but this? This was just plain ridiculous, pure and simple! And there was nothing he could do. Try as he might, he could not dislodge the chain from his ankle; try as he might, he only sank even further. Sensing that his air was drying up, the life leaching out of his limbs, he struggled toward the surface, knowing it would not be enough.

_'Move!'_

Oh no.

_"Move!'_

No.

_'MOVE!'_

_"No!"_ He screamed at himself as the current took him under; subsuquently exhausting his air supply. No no no NO!

Try as he might, the lad couldn't swim. He had no strength. It was all he could do to wrest his hand outward, flailing wildly for anything within reach as he sank. Was this the end, then? Was he going to meet his end in a watery grave? Best to save that for later, he mused. If, in fact, there was a later. With the last few precious seconds afforded to him, the genin thrashed desperately, struggling to find purchase in the murky depths of the ocean.

_'Somebody!'_

Desperate, he forced chakra into his palm. The rasengan formed_-why hadn't he thought of this earlier!-_effortlessly shearing through the chains as if they were butter. But he was too late. The surface loomed overhead, far and out of reach, and the current had him.

The water was cold, stinging cold. He felt himself twisted; turned upside down, and then his head breached the surface. He gulped down a mouthful of air before the current had a chance to drag him under again. Now the water was pressing on every side, tight and constricting. Some part of him marveled that he was still alive. He counted the seconds, as they passed, and at fourteen seconds, his lungs were already burning.

The pain was nothing, he told himself.

_'Anybody!'_

His back scraped against a rock and suddenly the pain became _unbearable._ The air was pressing its way up his throat, begging for release. It hammered at him. Just a little release, just a little. Abruptly, all forward motion ceased. The shock of it made him open his eyes. Hot, sour water attacked his eyes and he coughed. An enormous bubble of life-giving air rushed from his lungs.

He had less than a lungful of air and he wasn't going to make it another twenty seconds. His lungs burned. He surrendered and breathed. Scalding water poured into his lungs, drowning out all sense of self-_followed by air._ The blond coughed and the hot, acrid stuff shot from his nose and mouth. It seared his sinuses, but a moment later, sweet, cool air replaced it. Something _soft_ left his lips, and with it came the rest of rest of the seawater he'd ingested.

Someone_-or something-_wrested him from the water and hauled him onto the beach.

They-_whomever they were-_lowered him gently to the ground. The boy lay on his back, just breathing. It was still dark, but high overhead, he made out a branch. Stretching beyond the canopy, the harsh rays of afternoon sunlight gently slapped him across the face. After the black waters, it felt like stepping into a universe of light. Someone was looming over him, speaking to him; because he recognized the words "you" and "alright" comingled with one another.

The babble of noises faded for a moment, then returned, this time with light and sensation accompanying it. He lay there for a few moments longer, looking on as the world slowly came back into focus. Sight and sound blurred and shifted above him before he finally mustered the strength to squint against the sunlight. Imagine his surprise that he would find a girl looming over him.

And not just any girl.

He took in the large eyes, perfectly coifed hair, clear skin, full lips, and lean, firm curves and he marveled at her. Hers was a beauty beyond describing, but, ultimately, it was the eyes that ensnared him him. Her eyes were stern, expressive pools of oceanic blue, not unlike his own. Hers were eyes that spoke of distress, and concern and irration an anger and overwhelming fury, but as she saw him move; all of that faded, replaced by a relief as tangible as tears, as palpable as flesh.

"Ha!" She scoffed, slapping him across the back. "Looks like you didn't drown after all, dumbass." Naruto groaned and expelled a lungful of water. Who the hell was this crazy woman with azure hair? Dazed, he peered at her through bleary eyes.

She reached across him, her nimble fingertips working through the shaggy mop of blond that was her hair. He looked at her in surprise and then he saw a kind of relief settle over the woman, her face easing, her shoulders losing their tightness. Seemingly satisfied, she leaned back again, doing her best to ignore his spluttering surprise. She stared at him a moment longer, and, perhaps, her own cherry pink blush. She hugged his head into her chest, ignorant of the thin stream of blood that spurted out of his nose.

"Oi...are you alright?" she spoke; it was a harsh, irate sound.

He scraped himself up on his elbows, shaking the stars out of his eyes.

...I'm fine."

She smiled.

"What's your name, boy?" She demanded.

Naruto blinked at that, but saw no harm in giving out his name to his saviour.

"Naruto." He snapped back

Still sitting, she smirked.

_"Naruto, huh?"_ He half expected the light-haired beauty to give her name in turn, but instead her smile; harsh, unyielding, exasperated, only grew. Gingerly, she brought her hand up to his chin, cupping it as though he were made of the most fragile china. In the early morning light, her eyes_-gods!-_seemed to sparkle like gems of the ocean. She grinned and those gems, those pale orbs of turqouise, lit up like jewels of the sea.

"The name's Aquarius, kid."

"Aquarius?"

"Do I need to repeat myself, huh?" The woman growled menacingly. "Do I need to say it a second time, _huh?"_

"N-Not at all!"

"Good." Aquarius chuckled darkly. "Now, since I saved you, you owe me your life, right?" If anything, her evil grin only grew darker. "That means _you_ owe _me_ a debt of your gratitude, right? In other words, I _own_ you."

"Now wait a second-

_"I said you I own you."_ It was not a question. "As of now and until I say otherwise, Naruto, you are my _bitch."_

"H-Hai!"

"Great" The woman's smile returned. "Now, don't give me that look! I won't make you my slave or anything. I just need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a day or two in front of my friends and a certain person. If you do that for me, then you and I can go our seperate ways and pretend this never happened. And if you don't, well, then I'll just throw you back in the ocean and make sure you drown this time." Aquarius extended her hand, still smiling. "So how about it? You'll do this for me, right?"

"EH?"

_"Is there a problem?"_

"Not at all!" Naruto didn't seem to notice the killer intent. He was too busy staring. Under the harsh glare of the sun, he didn't notice much of anything, really. He was far too focused on saving his hide. That, and...

Despite all the majesty her eyes held, keeping his gaze focused upon her _face_ however was quickly proving to be its own a trial, thanks in part to the open blouse and the glorious sight that lay within. Naruto felt his cheeks inexplicably darken as a result. Then he chastised himself with a shake of the head. He'd nearly drowned for crissakes! He'd nearly died! He shouldn't even be alive! So why couldn't he stop staring at...at...at...

_A tail?_

His eyes bulged as they _finally_ left her chest and traveled across her lower torso. Or rather, her sudden lack of one. When had that happened? Because her legs weren't there, not anymore. Where her waist began, where her legs _should have been_, there was a tail. Bespeckled with dark scales of violet and indigo glistening in the sun, it bore a strong resemblance to that of a fish. _Wait._ The body of a young woman, with the tail of a fish. No way. She couldn't be. Aquarius couldn't...She couldn't possibly...be...

Naruto raised a quivering finger in her direction.

"Oi...Aquarius-san...you wouldn't happen to be a-

"A mermaid?" The woman blinked. "Well, shit, kid. You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?"

"I resent that remark!"

"And I resent my ex-boyfriend!" Aquarius snapped back. "So we're even!"

Naruto blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"Oh?" He grinned suddenly. "Oho? So you're doing this to make him jealous? You're trying to make him green with envy, aren't you?"

Aquarius turned red as a rose.

"Sh-Shut up!"

The woman folded both arms across her chest and glowered. She shivered, and hugged both arms to herself, growling softly. For a moment, Naruto wanted to laugh out of sheer absurdity. Unbelievable. He was speaking with_-arguing with!-_a mermaid. A real live mermaid! How, was this possible! Mermaids weren't real! They didn't exist! They weren't supposed to exist! And yet, one had just saved him from drowning! An actual mermaid! And now, apparently, she wanted him to pretend to be her boyfriend for the day. And now she was...crying? Wait, why was she crying? Had he done something wrong?

Gingerly_-tenderly-_he reached out. He didn't want to startle her. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He felt that he was at fault somehow. He wanted to do something to make it right. Anything really. Oh, how easily he was fooled!

"H-Hey now...I'll do it!" He enthused, loudly. "I'll pretent to be your-oh god-boy...friend for a day. But just a day! Then you'll have to deal with whats-his-name yourself!

"Scorpio." Aquarius supplied. "The two-timin cheating bastard who _you_ are going to piss off is named Scorpio."

"Sounds good!"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously!"

"Alright." Aquarius scrubbed at her eyes with the back of a hand. "But first things first...

Then the mermaid raised her gaze to meet his, and Naruto saw that she was blushing. He also saw that her eyes were dark and brooding. Uh-oh. Dimly, he realized he might have done something wrong, after all. But it was already too late. Far too late.

"Sorry kid," Aquarius began softly, "But in order for this to work, you'll need to die for a little bit. Not only that but your face_...is pissing __me off!"_

"Eh?"

**_"Hyaah!"_**

Something struck his head_-not gently-_and stars, _entire planets_ exploded before his vision. The world swam beneath him and the sky spun overhead. Dimly, he realized that he was about to black out. Again! Had she saved his life just to end it? Was fate truly so cruel to present him with such a beauty only to have her beat his brains in with a vase as large as his head? And was it just his imagination or was she actually...laughing?

He only had time for one thought as he sank into unconsiousness.

_'Just what the hell have I gotten myself into...if its going to be like this then I maybe I should have drowned back there after all!'_

**A/N: Gyahaha! Dominant Aquarius, much! No, Naruto isn't dead! Aquarius is just exerting her wrath on him! He has to get to the Celestial Spirit Realm one way or the other, doesn't he? Oh, man, this is gonna be good! Sorry if it is short! I sincerely hope you enjoyed it! That's all folks! Stay tuned for the next chappy!**

**R&R! =D**


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